(Nashville, Tenn. – March 3, 2011) On the opening day of CRS 2011, Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc.® handed out its Artist, Radio and Tom Rivers Humanitarian Awards during a special ceremony inside the Nashville Convention Center.
The 2011 CRB Artist Humanitarian Award was presented to Tim McGraw and Faith Hill for their ongoing efforts to aid those affected by the Nashville floods in 2010. The couple was particularly instrumental in organizing the star-studded Nashville Rising flood relief concert at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena in June 2010. Last year’s winner, Trace Adkins, presented the award to Hill and McGraw.
The 2011 CRB Radio Humanitarian Award winners were KWJJ/Portland, Ore. (Large Market), WIVK/Knoxville, Tenn. (Medium Market) and WCTY/Norwich, Conn. (Small Market). CRB President Mike Culotta and RadioInk’s Lois Choolijan presented the awards.
Large Market Winner: 99.5 KWJJ/Portland, Ore. –
KWJJ’s community efforts in 2010 included its annual sponsorship of the Portland Rose Festival, St. Paul Rodeo, July 4th Celebration Parade, Portland Police Department Celebrity Golf Tournament, Annual Bite of Oregon, Canned Food Drives and its various efforts to support Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.
Medium Market Winner: 107.7 WIVK/Knoxville, Tenn. –
WIVK’s humanitarian initiatives have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for organizations in the Knoxville area, including The Love Kitchen, Red Cross March for the Military, The United Way, Children’s Hospital, Coats for the Cold and the city’s annual Christmas parade. WIVK and its listeners were among those who generously donated their resources to the Nashville flood victims in 2010.
Small Market Winner: 97.7 WCTY/Norwich, Conn.
WCTY raises funds each year for The United Way, Wounded Warrior Project, MADD, the Women’s Center of S.E. Connecticut and the Plainfield Rotary Foundation, among others. In 2010, WCTY collected more than 30,000 pounds of food with its Big Y Food Drive in Eastern Connecticut.
The 2011 Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award was presented to NRG Media President and CEO, Mary Quass. NRG Media owns and operates 45 radio stations in Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Illinois. Quass has been recognized by Radio Ink Magazine as one of the 40 Most Powerful People in Radio for six consecutive years and was listed as the No. 1 Most Influential Women in Radio in 2007. Her community efforts are exemplified through her various office and board appointments with organizations including: the National Association of Broadcasters, United Fire and Casualty Company, Bayliss Media Foundation, All Saints Parish Foundation, Entrepreneurial Development Center, United Way Board of Trustees and Mercy Medical Center, among others. CRB Board member/WYCD PD Tim Roberts presented Quass with the award.
About the CRB Artist Humanitarian Award:
The CRB Artist Humanitarian Award was created in 1990 to honor those Country music artists who have exhibited exceptional humanitarian efforts during their career. Past recipients of the annual award have included Trace Adkins, Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Garth Brooks, Charlie Daniels and Kenny Rogers, among others.
About the CRB Radio Humanitarian Awards:
The CRB Radio Humanitarian Awards are presented to full-time Country radio stations for notable public service initiatives that improve the quality of life for the communities they serve. The annual awards are presented to stations in three categories: Large (markets 1-50), Medium (markets 51-130), and Small (markets 131+).
About the Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award:
The Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award is given at the discretion of the Country Radio Broadcasters Board of Directors to recognize an individual in the Country Radio industry who has displayed a magnanimous spirit of caring and generosity in service to their community. This award is named in honor of CRB Board member Tom Rivers, who died in 2004 at age 38 of bronchial asthma. Rivers, known for his work at WQYK, Tampa/St. Petersburg and WUSN, Chicago, was highly regarded for his public service.
